


burning the candle at both ends

by rosielibrary



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Mystery Trio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 22:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16841584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosielibrary/pseuds/rosielibrary
Summary: i had a cute as a button request for mystery trio au!stan carrying the reader to bed as they nearly collapse from exhaustion so here it is, in the flesh. or the words(word of warning: this fic is from 2015 and unedited!)





	burning the candle at both ends

You didn’t realize it was 4 A.M. until it crept on you and made you flinch in your seat, pencil about to be uncomfortably wedged in your nose. You really needed to stop twirling them between your fingers when you were lost in a daydream.

Ford, of course, was unaffected by the wee hours of the night. He and your co-worker, Fiddleford, were hard at work on their finishing touches of the research of the day. The three of you had gone into the forest to find some guardian that had incredible powers, according to Ford, but they were nowhere to be found, unfortunately. Ford said maybe they were shy— he’d only ever seen them on his own, after all.

Fiddleford passed you a cup of coffee, your third of the night, as he went toward the blackboard, and you nodded at him appreciatively before taking a sip. It was warm, with just enough milk and sugar to your likings. He knew how to make them, you thought to yourself as you stretched your arms above your head with a sigh as your back cracked. Leaning over a book for five hours wasn’t easy work, even if Ford made it look effortless with a flip of his hair and his glasses twitched up his nose with a fingertip.

The man in question grabbed the pencil from your hand, interrupting his train of thought at a stop saying “I’m just gonna borrow this” before he continued on, babbling about the forest guardian and their magic powers to Fiddleford and you, even though you weren’t exactly focusing as hard as you were at eleven o’clock.

4:06 A.M. You’d pulled all-nighters to finish essays and projects before, undoubtably, but the day’s events had taken their toll on you, especially since you’d been awake for almost three days straight. Eight hours of sleep across three days wasn’t really a record you were proud of, but it was one nonetheless. Your shoulders ached and your eyelids drooped, and if not for the sudden bang of the door, you probably would have tucked your head into the crook of your elbow and taken a small nap.

“You nerds are still awake? Seriously?”

You woke up a little more then. Stan, Ford’s twin brother, blew into the room like a hurricane, knocking over a book and striding over to the blackboard with a furrowed brow.

(He’s a hurricane that smelled of some weird cologne he used too much of, but it was somewhat endearing.)

“What’cha workin’ on, anyway?”

“We’re still trying to figure out the forest guardian,” Ford answered, tucking his (your) pencil behind one of his large ears. “How they get their magic and such.”

“Ain’t that the whole point of magic? That it’s, y’know, magic?” Stan’s statement made you laugh, but when the three men turned to you, you were suddenly very occupied with your coffee cup. He noticed your smile behind the rim of the mug and grinned at you, turning before he saw your red cheeks.

“Well, yes,” Ford sighed, and he looked back to the board himself, tilting his head to the side. “But their magic is special, see. It’s specifically related to the woods of Gravity Falls. Their magic is incredibly powerful, and I want to see it in action, but I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“Sounds like you’re pinin’ after them, huh?” Stan realized the pun and smacked a palm to his forehead, while Ford’s entire being seemed to glow red from the notion. “Apart from how dumb that was, why are you guys still up?”

“We didn’t realize the time,” Fiddleford admitted, nodding to the clock on the shelf. It had gotten stuck at 6:18 P.M. from yesterday, so the three of you were making guesses at the time all evening. “My watched stopped earlier when we were searching for the guardian, so we were a little stuck on that.”

Your yawn broke through the conversation, but none of them paid you any mind. Coffee cup now empty, you set it down next to your notes and tried to readjust yourself in the chair to get more comfortable, but your entire lower half felt numb from sitting for so long and you ended up almost falling out of the chair instead. Stan glanced round at you when your feet scuffed on the floor, but if he’d seen your slip-up, he didn’t mention it. He just rolled his eyes at you sympathetically as Fiddleford and Ford nattered on about the forest guardian and how Ford was definitely not “pining” for them, pun not intended.

You weren’t really needed in this conversation, you could probably rest your head for a little while, couldn’t you?

“Okay, breakin’ up the squabblin’ here, but why don’t’cha all get some sleep? You’re just gonna regret stayin’ up this late if you keep goin’. Survivin’ offa coffee ain’t good for anyone— this one’s fallin’ out of their chair tryin’ to stay— Oh.”

You’d fallen asleep, head on your forearms and facing their direction. If you’d have been able to see, Stan’s face softened, and Ford shook his head at you with a smile.

“They’ve been up with me for three days looking for the guardian,” Ford said quietly, and Stan walked over to your side, brushing hair from your face. “No wonder they’ve passed out at their books.”

“They’re in no way gettin’ back to their place like this,” Stan concluded, slowly pulling your chair out from the desk. “They can have my bed for the night, I’ll take the couch.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, Sixer.” Stan shuffled around you for a moment before he gripped under your knees and shoulders, picking you up bridal-style like you were a doll.

“Open the door for me, would’ya?”

Fiddleford jumped forward and held open the door, and you vaguely heard him tell Ford he was going to head back to his place before the sun came up. Stan carried you upstairs and managed to dodge the stack of papers near the end of the hallway, but you rustled and woke up slightly, opening your eyes to find you were not only in darkness, but with someone holding you to their chest. Someone who smelled very much like the cologne you noticed almost every day.

“Stan?”

Your sleepy voice made him flinch, but he held fast, thankfully not dropping you. A creak and a quiet thud signaled his door being kicked open, and the faint light made you rub at your eyes.

“What— Where am I?”

“My room— don’t go gettin’ any ideas,” Stan chuckled, and you hid your face in your hands. “You passed out at your desk, so I— Ford said y’should stay here. I mean, I agreed, and I brought you up here, so. Uh.”

You’re gently put down on his bed and your head found a pillow, but you tried to sit up in protest.

“I can’t, Stan, I couldn’t take your bed, I’d feel terrible, I—“

“You nearly stabbed yourself with a pencil when you fell asleep at your desk yesterday,” Stan argued, a brow raised. “Yeah, don’t think I didn’t see ya nearly give yourself a nose piercing. You have to rest, you’ve been up for three days or somethin’, Ford said.”

“I mean… If you’re sure…” With Stan’s nod reassuring you, you relaxed against the sheets, rubbing your temples. Three days? Time flies when you’re discovering mythical creatures in the woods. If that’s how the saying went.

“Get some sleep. I’ll be on the couch if ya need—“

You reached up and grabbed his hand, and it was his turn to blush. Even the tips of his ears went pink, you saw, and your tired smile was met by his wide eyes.

“There’s room for you on here, y’know. Unless you’re uncomfortable about sleeping with me— not like that, but, uh, just. Sleeping. I can scoot over.”

You couldn’t lie to yourself. You wanted him to agree to you and lie down at your side, to be able to just exist with him and sleep. Stan may be loud and ostentatious, but he was confident and humble, when you got him in the right mood. You liked all those aspects of him regardless.

“I mean, if you’re okay with it, then, uh… Sure.”

You grinned and pushed yourself to one side of the bed, and he got in after you, neither of you bothering to change clothes. Your labcoat is pulled off your shoulders and dropped to the floor at your side, and once you got under the covers yourself, you turned to face him, both of you fully aware of the other’s red cheeks.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

You swallowed, throat dry, and Stan studied the pillow under his head with the same focused expression as his brother. He looked to you for a moment and both of you started laughing, muffled giggles beneath handfuls of sheets.

“I can’t believe I was awake for three days,” you murmured, and Stan rolled his eyes.

“Honestly, you’re a trooper, stayin’ up that long. You better go to sleep before your entire body just gives up from the lack of bein’ lazy. That’s how I’ve stayed alive this long.”

“Pssht.” You yawned, covering your mouth. “Sure.”

“Go to sleep, nerd.”

He didn’t have to tell you twice. You were dead to the world within minutes, and Stan fell asleep soon after. When you woke up the next morning, his arm was tight around your middle, chest pressed to your back and his breath hot on your neck. You were startled by the sudden realization of how he’d probably done that in his sleep, but you didn’t mind too much. You didn’t mind at all, really.

11:23 A.M.

You ignored the clock and went back to sleep.


End file.
